
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — We’re a year into MNsure. The largest and cheapest carrier is out, the rates are going up and critics continue to call it a failure. What could this mean for the midterm elections?
No matter how you feel about MNSure, it has provided for a lot of back and forth between the candidates this election season. Republicans remain against the exchange.
READ MORE: No Injuries After Train Derailment In PlymouthIn a recent gubernatorial debate, Republican governor candidate Jeff Johnson blasted Gov. Mark Dayton for implementing MNSure in the first place. His main sticking point is the cost.
“We saw rates go up after MNSure, and we’re going to see them spike next year. The Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters said the increases for next year within MNSure are going to be between eight percent and 42 percent, so the fact that you keep saying we’re the lowest and it’s four and half percent? I think everyone here has found that that number is truly bogus,” Johnson said.
Gov. Dayton is continuing to defend MNSure, while at the same time admitting it’s a work in progress.
“MNSure is going to get better. It’s going to be better this next rollout. We still have the lowest rates of any state in the nation. That’s something to build upon, not to tear down,” Dayton said.
Health care exchanges like MNSure — an extension of the Affordable Care Act, are a hot topic even at the federal level. During a debate with Sen. Al Franken, Republican challenger Mike McFadden called it a train wreck that is based on lies.
“The biggest lie of all is that it will cost less. President Obama has said repeatedly that it will lower the average cost of insurance for a family by $2,500. That is a lie. That will not happen,” McFadden said.
Senator Franken is calling critics like McFadden who want to scrap MNSure altogether short-sighted.
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